title: Is effective and safe a radiochemotherapy approach in elderly cancer patients? A review.
abstract: Although more than 60% of all cancer patients in Europe and the USA are older than 65 years at the time of diagnosis, elderly patients are generally under-represented in clinical trials. A general consensus on how to treat elderly patients is still far from being achieved. In this review, we address some of the issues and challenges surrounding the treatment of older cancer patients and radiochemotherapy. We discuss the existing evidence related to radiochemotherapy in the elderly, focusing primarily on the malignancies most commonly seen in older patients and making general treatment recommendations where applicable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Ferrara, Italy. francesco.fiorica@unife.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fiorica
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zanghì
authors.forename: Giuliana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pascale
authors.forename: Otilia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nuta
authors.forename: Lino
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Del Pup
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stefanelli
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cartei
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*